The overproduction, or 'overexpression', of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is one of the most common aberrations in cancer, and subsequently agents that inhibit EGFR are among the most hotly-pursued potential products in the pharmaceutical industry. Now, just weeks after one of the first anti-EGFR antibodies, ImClone's Erbitux (Cetuximab), was approved for use in Europe and the USA, a 'second generation' anti-EGFR antibody is set to enter early-phase clinical trials in Australia. In two articles recently published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, research teams from the Melbourne Branch of the international Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) have elucidated the unique binding properties of an anti-EGFR antibody, called 806, that is able to discriminate between EGFR molecules on cancer cells and EGFR molecules on normal cells.

"There is already one anti-EGFR antibody on the market, and there are several more in clinical trials," says Dr. Andrew Scott, the Head of the LICR Melbourne Branch's Clinical Program. "Although these anti-EGFR antibodies do show some anti-tumor activity in patients, they are far from ideal because they bind to EGFR on both cancer cells and normal cells. As a result, they target normal tissues as well as the tumor, and side-effects, although mild, are common." Perhaps more importantly, the 'first generation' antibodies are limited in their clinical application and their capacity for improvement. "We need to increase the therapeutic efficacy of the available anti-EGFR antibodies," explains Dr. Scott. "What we would like to do is attach a lethal agent to an anti-EGFR antibody, such as a cytotoxic molecule or a radioisotope, so that the agent is targeted directly to the cancer cell. With the 806 antibody, we should be able to both interfere with EGFR signaling and deliver lethal agents to cancers, without causing severe side-effects through the destruction of normal, healthy cells, particularly in the liver an'"/>

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